Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

kickoff 2015:

Liberty to start season in Hawaii before Sunrise region title defense begins

high school football media day 2015

Christopher DeVargas

Liberty High football players Tyus Toomalatai, Kaimi Batoon, Calvin Tubbs, and Nick Tapuala before the 2015 Season.

Liberty video preview

High School Football Media Day 2015

Liberty High football players Tyus Toomalatai, Kaimi Batoon, Calvin Tubbs, and Nick Tapuala before the 2015 Season. Launch slideshow »

Liberty has risen to the top of the local high school football scene with a distinct island influence, so it’s only fitting that the Patriots will start this year’s season on one.

The Patriots, which have produced several stars of Polynesian descent over the past few years, travel Friday to Honolulu, Hawaii, for a game against Saint Louis School, the 35th ranked team in the nation according to MaxPreps. They then return home to host another Honolulu program, and the only Hawaiian team ranked ahead of Saint Louis in No. 8 Mililani High next week.

“Hopefully we’ll go over to Hawaii, make a good showing and make Nevada proud,” Liberty coach Rich Muraco said.

Nevada teams are likely just relieved they’re getting out of having to face Liberty for a couple weeks. The Patriots extended their run to five straight Sunrise region championships last year, even though they failed to add another division title in the regular season when Canyon Springs snapped their 40-game winning streak in the region.

No fellow Henderson school has beaten Liberty since 2009. None of this year’s roster may have been around when the stretch of dominance began, but they’re motivated to uphold the recent tradition.

“I take good pride in playing here at Liberty,” senior linebacker Kaimi Batoon said. “There’s a great brotherhood, camaraderie, great coaches, good spirit within the school. I love it.”

Batoon is one of several Patriots originally from Hawaii. Liberty has brought a flavor of Hawaii to Las Vegas for years, performing the Haka dance before kickoff of their games and associating itself with the Island Warriors youth program.

The Patriots began branching out to play national opponents three years ago, and it only made sense that the foray would eventually lead to Hawaii.

“It just brings a good challenge for our team,” offensive lineman Tyus Toomalatai said. “Not just me. For us to play Saint Louis and Mililani, it gives us a good challenge for Bishop Gorman, to get ready for state.”

Gorman, the six-time defending state champion, is the only beast Liberty hasn’t conquered locally. The Gaels have terminated the Patriots’ season three of the past four years, including a 50-0 victory in the 2014 state semifinals.

Liberty might have its best chance for an upset, however, this season. It’s as powerful as ever on the line with Nick Tapuala and Malasala Aumavae-Laulu joining Toomalatai.

They’ll open holes for running back Calvin Tubbs, who has three years of varsity experience despite battling injuries last year. Senior Bryan Roland joins juniors Ethan Dedeaux and Darion Acohido to create one of the best receiving corps in town.

Liberty should get the ball to the trio smoother in 2015 after enduring the ups and downs of starting a freshman quarterback last season. By all accounts, Kenyon Oblad has improved drastically going into his sophomore season and even pulled down a BYU scholarship offer.

“Being 14-years-old, we only gave a portion of our playbook to him,” Muraco said. “At this point, it’s all-in. He’s matured so much. He’s able to handle everything we throw at him.”

Opposing offenses may have a tougher time handling everything Liberty offers. Liberty’s defense is so stacked that Dedeaux, one of the best cornerbacks in the area last year, has the luxury of focusing mostly on offense with teammates filling his void in the secondary.

Liberty meets a gauntlet of local opponents and rivals early in the season including Centennial, Coronado and Green Valley in consecutive weeks. But for now, the Patriots are preoccupied with the two Hawaiian opponents they earned the right to play.

“That’s foremost on our minds, getting ready for those two teams,” Muraco said. “They’re both great teams. We go with the same goals every year. We want to win our division, win the region and win a state championship.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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